Trapped Elevator Passengers Wait Hours Because Buildings Lack Monitoring Staff

When a passenger is trapped in an elevator, the outcome depends almost entirely on how quickly someone becomes aware of the situation. In buildings with 24/7 security or maintenance staff, entrapments are typically detected within minutes via alarm panels or intercom calls. But in buildings without continuous monitoring — smaller office buildings, residential walk-ups with a single elevator, parking garages, and buildings that operate on reduced staffing during nights and weekends — trapped passengers may wait for hours. In the most extreme documented case, a man was trapped for nearly 41 hours in New York's McGraw-Hill Building in 1999, despite having activated the alarm and being visible on a surveillance camera. This matters because prolonged entrapment is not merely uncomfortable — it can be medically dangerous. Passengers with diabetes may need medication on a schedule. Passengers with claustrophobia or anxiety disorders can experience severe panic attacks. Elderly passengers may become dehydrated. Passengers in hot climates trapped in an elevator without ventilation face heat-related illness. The psychological impact of prolonged entrapment can be lasting: many people develop elevator phobia after even brief entrapments, which in turn limits their mobility and access to multi-story buildings. The technology to solve this exists. Cellular-connected elevator monitoring systems can automatically detect an entrapment (via car position sensors and door state sensors) and alert a central monitoring station or directly dispatch emergency services, without requiring the passenger to find and use an intercom. Some systems include two-way video communication. But these systems cost $1,000-$3,000 per elevator to install plus monthly monitoring fees, and there is no universal requirement to install them. The ASME A17.1-2019 code updated emergency communication requirements, but many states have not yet adopted the 2019 code, and existing elevators are grandfathered. This persists because the liability for delayed rescue is diffuse. The building owner is liable for maintaining the elevator, the elevator maintenance company is responsible for emergency callbacks, and the fire department handles physical rescues — but no single entity is responsible for ensuring timely detection of an entrapment. When no one is specifically accountable, the gap persists. Structurally, the cost of monitoring is borne by the building owner, while the benefit accrues to passengers who may not even be tenants. This misaligned incentive means building owners underinvest in monitoring. And unlike fire alarms (which are required by code to connect to a central station), elevator entrapment monitoring has no equivalent universal mandate.